I was really looking forward to try La Grande Boucherie, a french restaurant located Midtown Manhattan. This place, that replaces Remi, an Italian joint that has been there for years, is huge and impressive! Two floors, a gigantic bar with a selection of alcohol that would make any wine store jealous, a fish station (small compared to the meat selection they have) and a classic decor with a bit of nostalgia.

They took over the under pass that links 53rd and 54th street and totally renovated it, from floor to ceiling, giving them the ability to get even more tables outside, but covered so diners can enjoy their terrasse even if it is raining.

Menu wise, you’ll find some classics and if you are adventurous, I suggest the escargots. At first, when they come in a small dish with 6 holes, you would think that for $24 it is pricey, but you soon realize that each hole has 3 escargots in them, bathed in a delicious mix of butter, parsley, lemon, shallot and garlic. So of course you cannot not dip some bread in it…

The foie gras au torchon is also a very classic dish and the foie was well made: deliciously fatty and tasty. If you are vegetarian, do not worry: they have appetizers like the asperges blanches or white asparagus, and a goat cheese salad (salade mesclun au chèvre chaud).

For the piece de resistance, the côte de boeuf for two is gargantuan: this 48oz tomahawk ribeye is served with roasted bone marrow. The meat, ordered medium rare, had a nice char and was delightfully fatty. It was tender and juicy, with the bone marrow being the cherry on the cake! It comes with a bordelaise sauce, on the side, and you can accompany it with other sauces like béarnaise or peppercorn, the former being my favorite.

To go with the meal, I tried their old fashioned, made with Wild Turkey Bourbon, Espolon Anejo tequila, plum, lavender and lemon oil. And with the ribeye, a Pinot Noir from Bourgogne, Philippe Colin, Le prince des pierres, 2017, the bold flavor of the wine marrying perfectly the strong flavor of the meat.

Dessert was good, but not the best. The tarte tatin was nice but not the best I had, missing a bit the butter taste that makes this dessert decadent, and the pistachio bombe glacée, smothered with a dark chocolate sauce, lacked a bit of the pistachio flavor that I was expecting.

Still, this was a fantastic meal and I recommend it if you can afford to go there, because, yes, it is on the pricey side. But for sure, they have lots of French classics, from duck confit to choucroute, crepes Suzette to profiteroles. So, enjoy (I did)

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La Grande Boucherie in NYC, New York

Jean-Philippe Gerbi